


Angelus and the Power of Three

by Bl4ckHunter



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV), Charmed (TV 1998)
Genre: Crossover, Magic, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,852
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28030830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bl4ckHunter/pseuds/Bl4ckHunter
Summary: One-shot story. The Charmed Ones come to help in L.A. with Angelus on the loose.
Relationships: Angel/Cordelia Chase, Piper Halliwell/Leo Wyatt
Kudos: 3





	Angelus and the Power of Three

**Author's Note:**

> This story is inspired by Charmed/Angel crossover story "Sent to the Witch" by Marcus S. Lazarus, if you are reading this, Marcus, thank you for your permission for using your story as an inspiration.
> 
> Takes place in Season 4 of Angel, when Angelus is loose, though I'm ignoring the whole Connor/Cordelia (since, ew, that was almost incest, since Cordy used to change his diapers and was like his surrogate mother) and the pregnancy and Jasmine plot, since that just ruined Cordy and it happened only because Whedon was forced to do a rushed storyline because of Charisma Carpenter didn't let the showrunners know soon enough about her pregnancy. I'm guessing that even without possessing Cordy, Jasmine would find another way to enter. As for Charmed, I don't have exactly established timeline but it would probably take place after they vanquished Cole for good in Season 5.
> 
> As for stealing Angel's soul, that I'm ignoring and let's just say that Wesley had a spell to "summon" Angel's soul but he didn't have the magical mojo to use it.
> 
> Now, I originally wasn't planning on involving Buffy but with Angelus on the loose, I can easily see her trying to take the matters into her own hands as well, when Fred tipped the Scoobies off about Angelus.
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or Charmed.

"OK, what now?" Piper said as she stared, confused. Ensouling a vampire?

"From what I read here, Angelus was one of the worst vampires recorded in the human history, until he was cursed by gypsies to have a soul and feel guilt and remorse over his actions." Phoebe said, reading from the Book of Shadows.

"Well, the curse has a loophole, if Angel was to experience even for a brief moment true happiness, he'd lose his soul and become Angelus again." Leo said.

"Why would we even help a vampire in the first place?" Piper asked.

"Because according to the Elders, Angel is supposed to play a pivotal role in an upcoming apocalypse, but if he's become Angelus, then this bodes no good for anyone." Leo explained. "There are more powerful forces at work here and the world needs Angel, not Angelus. Angel is not like the vampires you have encountered, he doesn't have a nest, nor does he serve a Queen of vampires, though they share the same weaknesses, wooden stake through the heart, sunlight, garlic, holy water, crucifix etc. Plus, he's spent rather the good part of the century atoning for his crimes and trying to be good. I'm not saying he's like the innocent you protect, but you can't turn your back on him."

Piper, Phoebe and Paige considered before they nodded, while Leo orbed them into Hyperion Hotel.

* * *

Cordelia, Gunn, Fred, Connor and Willow waited in Hyperion Hotel, when they saw a shimmer of blue light appear and then three women and a man showed up.

"You must be the Charmed Ones." Fred said.

"Where's Wesley?" Leo asked.

"With Buffy and Faith trying to catch Angelus, what do you need?" Gunn asked.

* * *

"Do you think that these Charmed Ones can help?" Buffy asked as she walked down the building with Faith and Wesley.

"Well, Leo has never disappointed me before, so I can only hope he'll come through." Wesley said, loading up his shotgun before they turned around to face Angelus.

"I figured you'd be here. Wooh! Exciting!" Angelus said enthusiastically.

Angelus dodged, when Faith fired from her crossbow and kicked her in the midsection, sending her crashing to the pillar.

Buffy tried to chase Angelus, while Wesley fired from his shotgun but Angelus dodged.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Angelus shouted as he disarmed Wesley and threw him away. "Uh-oh. Vampire with a gun." Buffy and Faith dodged as Angelus fired. "I see why he likes this thing."

Buffy and Faith rushed at Angelus, trying to disarm him but he managed to knock them both down as he smirked at Faith.

"You really have gone soft, haven't you?" Angelus smirked before Buffy tackled him from behind as Angelus smirked. "Well, this is fun."

* * *

"Maybe there is a way for us to… _fix_ the curse." Paige suggested.

"What do you mean, 'fix'?" Willow asked, confused.

"The thing about 'true happiness', there may be a way around that. The magic the gypsies use need a loophole to lift the curse, but our branch of magic, the Power of Three… it's one of the most powerful magical forces that exist, theoretically, we _could_ bring Angel back into the control permanently." Piper explained, making, Tara, Cordelia and Fred look hopeful, while Wesley, Gunn and Connor were skeptical.

"You do realize what you are asking us to do, right?" Leo warned.

"You said you protect innocent people, right? Well, Angel is innocent, the only difference between him and Angelus is that Angel has a conscience. And Angelus would still suffer, if he saw Angel commit good deeds but Angelus himself would be unable to do anything." Cordelia said.

* * *

Buffy and Faith worked in tandem, engaging Angelus but he held his own and blocked their combined efforts as he kicked Faith in the face and elbowed Buffy, sending them both to the ground.

"A little tired? Want to take a break?" Angelus gloated.

Buffy and Faith got up on their feet as Angelus laughed.

* * *

"Our spells never take that long to prepare." Piper said, quite annoyed, as Willow gathered the ingredients for the spell.

"Look, gypsy magic and the Power of Three are two completely different things, we use herbs so that we can more easily access our powers, especially with a spell of such magnitude." Willow explained before pausing. "And… well… there are… potential side effects."

"What do you mean?" Paige asked.

"I think I know what she means." Leo spoke up as he turned to the Halliwell sisters. "Not all magic is as beneficial as the one you've used so far. You tap into your own magical power but the magic Willow and Tara use can be… well, the most accurate term would be 'addictive.'"

Willow winced as Leo continued. "They become so used to using magic to help them out that they tend to resort to it even when it's not necessary, eventually reaching a point where it's like the magic controls them rather than them controlling it." Leo clarified, looking patiently over at Phoebe as Tara continued to prepare the herbs, Piper kneeling down beside Tara to help her. "Imagine that you use magic on everyday basis, like using a spell to find lost car keys or just a specific shirt when you wake up in the morning even if it would only take a few seconds longer to look for it yourself. Eventually you reach a point where you'd become so used to being able to use magic to fix everything that you might even try and well… _cheat_ your way out of arguments, for example."

Willow paled, remembering what she did to Tara, using a spell to erase her memory of the argument and when she unintentionally wiped the memory of the whole Scooby Gang.

* * *

"Two Slayers against one vampire? This should be fun." Angelus smirked.

"We've kicked your ass before; we can do it again." Buffy said.

"Ready, B.?" Faith asked, turning to Buffy.

"Whenever you are." Buffy said as they engaged Angelus.

Angelus blocked their combined efforts at first but as he grabbed Buffy by her arm, Faith landed a punch to his face but Angelus dodged as Faith pulled out a knife and attempted to scratch him before Buffy pulled out another knife, grazing Angelus by the arm as he felt himself feel a bit weakened, realizing that the knives were laced with some poison.

"Special mixture prepared just for you. It won't kill you, but it'll slow you down." Faith said.

"Old tricks won't work on this new dog." Angelus taunted as he grabbed Buffy by her wrist and knocked the knife off her hand and kicked Faith in the midsection as she hit the ground. Angelus flipped Buffy over her back and leapt up onto the rafters, vanishing into the darkness as the Slayers heard his maniacal laughter echo throughout the warehouse.

"That hurt, baby. Kinda liked it." Angelus cackled. "How 'bout you? There are my girls. Knew they were somewhere in there. Dying to come out and play again?"

"Shut up." Faith growled as they walked down the shadows.

* * *

"Instead of using the curse the gypsies used, we could theoretically make Angel's ensoulment permanent. The Power of Three may help." Piper said.

"And if not?" Cordelia asked.

"Then we're doomed." Willow realized glumly.

* * *

"I know how it feels. Forced to be someone you're not. Hurts to the bone. Trying to bury the pain but you can't get the hole deep enough, can you? No matter how much you dig, it's still there." Angelus taunted.

"Don't listen to him. He's trying to get under your skin." Buffy said as they looked around.

"Broken shards stabbing every time you breathe, cutting you up inside. You know, there's only one way to make the pain stop. Hurt someone else." Angelus said.

Buffy turned but was too late to react as Angelus threw her away and kicked Faith as she climbed onto the rafters, with Angelus following her. Faith dodged Angelus's blows before he kicked her away as they landed on other rafters.

Buffy and Faith worked in tandem, attacking from both sides but Angelus jumped away. Buffy followed but Angelus threw her down before Faith rushed at Angelus and they exchanged blows but Angelus was more ruthless and didn't have as much restraint and Angel as he grabbed Faith by her arm and knocked her down.

* * *

" _Heed our words and change the rules,_

_To slumber goes the scourge cruel._

_Angel of good, come back to the light!_

_Let him pursue the quest of right!_ "

Piper, Paige and Phoebe said, while holding each other's hands in the circle.

Next thing everyone else knew, Hyperion Hotel was emanating with blinding light.

* * *

As Angelus was about to finish Faith off, he suddenly gasped and fell on his knees as his eyes glowed and Buffy immediately realized what happened, while Faith was puzzled before she noticed the look of confusion on Angelus's face.

"Where… what…" Angel then looked around, confused. "Buffy? Faith? What's going on?"

Angel then recognized the look he had seen in Buffy's eyes, like when they faced off, when Angelus was about to awaken Acathla as he stepped back in horror, realizing what happened. "No… did I…"

"Angel… you didn't kill anyone. It's OK." Buffy assured, raising her hands.

Angel breathed out, still in shock, trying to remember whatever Angelus had done, while on the loose.

* * *

"Are you alright, Angel?" Faith asked as Angel was at the balcony of Hyperion Hotel, brooding.

"As well as I could be, I guess." Angel said as he entered the lobby and smiled at the three women. "I suppose I have you to thank. I've heard about the Charmed Ones."

"We've heard about Angelus too and we can tell that you're nothing like him." Piper said.

"So… Buffy and Faith told me that you… fixed the curse?" Angel asked.

"We're not sure yet whether it's permanent but we hope so." Phoebe said.

"There shouldn't be the 'true happiness' loophole, although I'm not sure you should rush to test it." Paige advised and Angel nodded.

"Thank you… and for whatever it's worth…" Angel started.

"Don't apologize for what that monster did, we know it wasn't you." Piper assured.

"Your friends also made a compelling argument about us helping you." Leo added.

"We protect innocent and with Angel… well, I suppose 'innocent' is a loose term." Phoebe said.

"Thank you." Wesley said, shaking his hand with Leo.

"You are lucky that the Elders believe in the good Angel does, despite his questionable methods." Leo said.

"Thank you for your help." Angel said before turning to Buffy and Faith. "I—"

"Don't. It wasn't you." Buffy assured.

"Look, at least we fixed it and made things right, so let bygones be bygones." Faith said.

Buffy and Angel looked at each other, countless of unsaid words exchanged between them but they both knew they had to drift apart.

"Buffy… whatever happens… be careful." Angel said.

"I think I'll be fine." Buffy said, reluctantly turning to Faith as they were both more or less on good terms as they shared rather awkward smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> Marcus S. Lazarus did in his story that the Power of Three and the Halliwells with Jenny's help tweaked the curse by accessing the Power of Three, since it's one of the strongest forces of magic ever, so Angel's soul is permanent here.
> 
> Frankly, I think that the gypsies didn't exactly think the curse through, when they used it on Angelus, since rather than punishing Angelus, they created a whole new persona that suffers guilt for the actions of someone else, when he himself had done nothing wrong.
> 
> Please review and let me know if you have enjoyed this one-shot.
> 
> With regards
> 
> Bl4ckHunter


End file.
